1Yr Old Growth Defiency

Dear mellisa, I could almost write your story. Our son, ( Lallo) who is now 5 1/2, went through the exact same thing. Lallo was born full term at 6lbs. 4 ounces, did exceedingly well about the first 5 months, exclusivly breastfed, hoverering around the 10% of growth, but he was steady. Then he also began to drop off the charts. I believe he has had every test known to man, and some some not even known:-) He even had to have a sweat test, he is still under a year at this point. Blood work,the first time we had to take him to our local Hosp. ( we live in a very rural, predominatly Amish Community), and they had to stick an 8 month old infant 3 times for blood, I went to our Ped. and told her EVERY test from here on out would be at Rainbow Babies and Children Hosp. in Cleveland. She agreed, and our insurance paid because of her recommendation. He was on Pediasure for about 3 years, I even had to make mashed potatoes, vegatables ( instead of butter) cereal had to be made with Pediasure, I even had to add olive oil to his juice for added caloeries, every thing he ate was pretty much made with Pediasure or olive oil ( check with WIC if you feel you might qualify, Pediasure is REALLY expensive, or try to get a script, insurance might cover some). Long story short, our son is still small for his age, but 100% healthy and all boy. During the approx. year that is all went on, they were throwing out medical disordres it "might" be, what they were checking for, scaring me to death! So take a deep breath, as a Peds. Nurse, you know alot more than I, but I have never regretted all the testing, at least we know Lallo is healthy.He still has good eating days, when he wants 3 meals and a snack ot 2, yet days that if we get him eat a piece of toast is an accomplishment. I do have copies of every test ever done on him, if you would like to contact me and compare notes, ect, my email is ____@____.com Best of luck to you, I pray your daughter is just small, just like my last 2. Another to think about, as a nurse, I am sure you know, but look at you and hubby. I am all of 108 pounds soaking wet, but my hubby is a healthy 195. Maybe she has "small genes" I am here if you want to talk. God Bless, A. P.

A good friend of mine has a daughter that is now 9 years old and it took the doctors 8 1/2 years to diagnose her daughter with Hyper IgD syndrome (HIDS). This is very rare and the doctors usually run all of the tests but this one. Please talk to your doctor about running this test. It is a simple blood test. Her daughter was very small and never on the growth chart since birth, she had recurrent fevers usually lasting anywhere from 2 to 7 days. They did not usually get into the danger zone but were consistantly at about 102. As she got a little older she would complain of stomach aches and her knees aching, but as an infant or small child she could not express if she had pains. Occassionally she would have some vomitting but not very often with the fevers. Her fevers were about 2 weeks apart. After several trips and testing this was the final diagnosis. She is now a petite vibrant young girl that does very well in school. (considering she has missed half of her kindergarten, 1st, 2nd grades due to fever,prior finding out the cause) Now as soon as she starts a fever they give her 1 tablet of predinisone and that will stop the fever within 24 hours so now she misses one day of school instead of 5 per episode. Her episodes do not come as ofther either... went from every 10-14 days to once a month. Hopes this will save you some time and it will not take 8 years for you to find and fix what is wrong. Hope this helps - Best Wishes to you and your family..

Question: Is she breastfed? One part of the problem could be that the doc is measuring her against a formula fed chart. PM me if you want more info on the difference and where to get the correct chart for the doc.

If you haven't already you should have her checked for lead posioning. This is easy to check for and causes growth delays, low immunity (read as alot of sickness). Both of which you stated having problems with. My daughter (20 months) has had lead posioning from a house we were renting, and we delt with these things(in addition to many more). We have been able to bring her weight up with lots of calcuim and protien. We also put her on chewable vitamins, as they contain alot more "stuff" than the liquid. This has helped with the constant illnesses.
We also take her to a chiropractor, and have seen great improvement in her appitite along with other areas such as sleeping, and how often she is getting sick.
Pedi sure has also helped several moms that I know bring up their children's weight. You can buy it at the store, but it does cost a bit, but if you have medicade or some insurances will take a doctors perscription, you can usually get it covered.
Hope some of these suggestions help, and that your baby gets better.
Be blessed.

Hello. We went through similar issues with our now 3 yr. old daughter. We ended up doing alot of testing including the final one, an esophogeal scope at Children's. Everything came back negative. Our new pediatrician now believes she's just small! Genetics. My advice to you is do the testing, just in case, but don't let the doctor's obsession with the growth curve upset you too much. You know your child better than anyone, I'm guessing your momsense is telling you whether you really think somethings wrong or not, and you're probably right. Good luck, and feel free to email me offline if you want more specific info.

My son was always below the zero percentile on the growth chart. He was that way until he was four years old. My pediatrician ran all kinds of tests on him to the point he was becoming afraid of people, because he had been poked so many times. We finally took him to an all natural doctor before we allowed anymore tests and he tested negative for minerals. We began giving him trace minerals and within eight months he had gained 3 pounds and grown two inches. His pediatrician could not believe it. Medical doctors and holistic doctors don't always see things the same but in this case the growth chart showed the proof. Good luck.

Hi M., I know how you feel. I have twin girls that were born at 31.6 weeks and they weighed 3 lbs. each. They are very healthy now but the doctor still says they are too small or this or that. I hate it when doctors say she's too big or too small, too short or too tall, everyone is different even our children. So I wouldn't worry about that, let your kid be herself, they way she is, big or small.

i would get a second opinion before i put my child through that. she may have flatlined for right now but in a month she may gain 2-3 pounds and grow an inch or two. the the abnormal fever thing i'm not sure about. just check with another doctor before going through all of that.

I also have a 1 year old with a growth deficiency. In fact, we just saw the endocrinologist today at Cincinnati Childrens. She was wonderful! My opinion on these types of things is that you need to do everything you can for the benefit of your child. This means to go ahead and get the opinions from the endocrinologist. The fact that you are a pediatric nurse doesn't mean that you automatically have a wide knowledge base on endocrinology. My husband is actually a pediatrician, but endocrinology is such a complex field, you really need the expertise of a specialist.

As mothers we get so worried about eating issues with our children. It is our instinct, I believe. A burden was lifted off my shoulders when I was told that the growth issues likely had nothing to do with what I was or wasn't feeding my baby, that it was likely a hormonal issue. Just think if it is an endocrine issue and you don't get treated or tested, then really nothing will change in the growth of your child, no matter how many bottles of pediasure you feed her.

I too have a son that is very small. He is a twin and at 3 and 1/2 years (will be 4 on Aug. 4) he weighs in at only 24# and is 35 inches tall. Our pediatrician was very concerned at first, wanting us to give him Pediasure and extra fat in his diet. But, when she found out that my husband's father only got to 5' 2" and over the years has shrunk down to 4' 11" and my husband's sister is only 4' 11" she mad a not in his chart and doesn't focus on his size and weight anymore, just only on whether he's healthy. You might want to check and make sure that might not be some "small genes" if you will, in your family. My son is very happy and healthy-and yes-very tiny. Don't feel bad. Just make sure your child stays healthy. :)

Unfortunately I can't really help with the growth deficiency. Mine has always been off the charts for being gigantic. However, the best advice I can give is what we all have to do with any given situation: Evaluate her doctor and decide the trust factor and do your research. Trust her pediatrician when he/she is saying some tests need to be run, but do your research in the meantime. You are the only voice your child has so be proactive and I'm sure all will work out well.

Just make sure you do the research. Maybe get a second opinion just to be sure. My girls were both pretty small at 1 year - they were about 18 lbs. My niece was even smaller than that. We aren't a very big family so the dr. wasn't TOO concerned.

Through my rambles, my advice would be to seek another opinion. :) Are you able to ask any doctors at work??